Current State of the Art in Apple II by Lester Barrows and John Valdezco

The promise was “Apple II Forever”, and there still exists a vibrant community of software and hardware development for the Apple ][ line of computers. Our exhibit focused on current projects which bring new life to a hardware line that launched in the 1970s. Software includes new releases of ProDOS and GS/OS, as well as new products such as Ninjaforce’s Kaboom! and Michael Packard’s current project, Alien Downpour. Also on exhibit were new hardware such as Tulip House’s IIGS DVI adapter, new //e and IIGS memory cards from A2Heaven and GG Labs, the 4play modern joystick adapter from Lukazi, a new 4-channel sound card from Manila Gear, the CFFA 3000 CF/USB storage device, and the new prototype TransWarp GS board from UltimateMicro. Manila Gear’s John Valdezco was there to talk about their current Apple ][ hardware projects. Two Apple IIGS systems, one Apple //e, and one Apple //c ran live demonstrations, including Ninjaforce’s 4 player Kaboom! game.

Here’s a summary of what we brought to the exhibit. Links to all projects are listed at the end of the article:

Shown on the screen above is Ninjaforce’s Deskplay, a new Desk Accessory for playing MOD tracker files on GS OS.

Les’s Apple //e had the following hardware:

a2heaven RamFactor8M

a2retrosystems Uthernet II Ethernet Card

Manila Gear No Slot Clock

Marco Insinilla’s quikLoader Card

Shown on the screen above is Marc Golombeck’s new 3D Engine for the Apple //.

Vince’s Apple //c was running on stock ROM 255 hardware since we just got it the week before and the new hardware we ordered for it was still on the way, namely:

Big Mess of Wires Floppy Emu Model B

a2heaven RamExpress II A2S4000

Shown on the screen above is Tom Porter’s new game Dogfighters of Mars 2.

And the newest Apple computer in our collection, complete with mouse. Made the night before by Eiko’s Balloons.

Having incredible four player fun with Ninjaforce’s Kaboom! on the 4play game controller card with a 4soniq 4-channel sound card.

We rocked the entire VCF show floor using Soundsmith 2.0, the new 8 speaker channel music software from Brutal Deluxe, and Manila Gear’s 8soniq 8-channel sound card. A sample of our playlist included: Alphaville, Big In Japan, Can’t Get Enough, Footloose and Funkytown.

Michael Packard’s new arcade game Alien Downpour playing on the Apple //e.

We also ran:

Ninjaforce’s amazing new Kernkompetenz audio visual GS demo

Retro Ports’ pre-alpha version of Arcade Asteroids for the Apple IIGS

Richard Soberka’s Zephyr (c/o Brutal Deluxe)

8 Bit Weapon’s Digital Music Synthesizer and DMS Drummer

We look forward to all the cool new hardware and software projects still yet to come. Watch out for accelerators, HDMI video adapters, flash storage systems, system coolers, and new games and utilities.

Les and I would like to send our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended, to those who helped us put this exhibit together, and last but not the least, to those who created (and continue to create) the software and hardware that we enjoy and were able to share with the rest of the vintage computing community.

Mountain View, CA, 18 May 2017 — Manila Gear today announced the No Slot Clock for the Apple II series of computers. The No Slot Clock lets your Apple II remember the date and time.

No Slot Clock – Front Side

No Slot Clock – Back Side

This brings the amazing functionality of the Dallas Time Chip DS1215 to the Apple ][ and the Apple ][+ computer. No more typing in the date and time every time you boot up!

It also comes with a lot of new features:

Batteries – The No Slot Clock uses 1 or 2 user-replaceable CR2032 batteries. It also has break-off battery holders for flexible placement.

Configurable – The No Slot Clock can be configured for use on an Apple ][ or ][+, or an Apple //e or //c. It can even be used on a slot card that has an EPROM socket.

Sockets – The No Slot Clock has a machine pin socket on the top. This ensures secure and reliable connections to your EPROM. A regular IC socket is on the bottom. This preserves your motherboard or slot card IC socket. No more “socket stretch”!

A modified version of the NSC Utilities disk will be available on the Manila Gear website.

Manila Gear will be at the Bay Area Maker Faire, which runs from May 19 to May 21. This will be our first time at the faire. We’re looking forward to showing our current and upcoming projects, and sharing our design choices and making processes. If you are planning to attend the faire, do drop by and say hello!

Mountain View, CA, 7 April 2017 — Manila Gear today announced the 2soniq interface card for the Apple IIGS. The card gives IIGS owners the ability to connect 2 powered speakers so they can enjoy stereophonic sound. This is a simpler version of the 4soniq – the quadraphonic sound card with a monophonic input digitizer that the company released almost a year ago.

2soniq Stereo Sound Card

Hardware – The 2soniq unlocks the capabilities already available in the Apple IIGS’ Ensoniq Digital Oscillator Chip. The simple design and robust engineering delivers clean, reliable sound. It features 2 channel output via one 3.5 mm stereo jack. Similar to the 4soniq, the 2soniq can also be setup for slotless operation.

Software – The 4soniq Programmer’s Guide is available on the Manila Gear website. The guide shows developers how to program for both the 2soniq and the 4soniq, and includes sample code on how to modify existing software to support multi-channel sound.

In February 2017, Manila Gear contacted ReActiveMicro about working together to bring their projects to the Apple II Community. Manila Gear wanted to make sure their current and future products continue to be available to the community at scale. ReActiveMicro was Manila Gear’s first choice since they are the most experienced and longest lived Apple II vendor currently active in the Apple II Community.Starting from April 2017, ReActiveMicro will be selling and supporting all the great items available from Manila Gear. These will include the new 2soniq stereo sound card, the popular Apple IIGS VGA Adapter, and a refreshed version of the 4soniq 4-channel sound card.

4soniq 4-channel sound card

Apple IIGS VGA Adapter

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Manila Gear is an electronics company founded by Jon Christopher Co and John Valdezco. Jon has been a hardware hacker for the past twenty years and maintains a blog at http://damntechnology.blogspot.com.au. John advises Silicon Valley startups, and has a degree in Electrical Engineering. Both Jon and John attended Philippine Science High School, and have been working together on cool stuff since then.

ReActiveMicro was formed by Henry S. Courbis in 2005 as a division of Reactive. Since 1990 the parent company Reactive has had many different divisions. They have worked with hardware, custom software, auto security and sound, auto repair, pay phones and electronics to name a few. Henry’s current project at Reactive Computers is related to the Apple II and Arcade systems. He also plans on teaming up and working with others to provide new solutions for the Apple II Community.

Mountain View, CA, August 26, 2016 – Manila Gear, makers of the 4soniq quadraphonic sound card for the Apple IIGS, today announced the Apple IIGS VGA Adapter. The adapter lets you connect your Apple IIGS to a VGA monitor that supports 15 kHz. It consists of a DA-15 to DE-15 adapter with an integrated sync separator.

This is a great solution for those of us who have aging AppleColor RGB Monitors, or are just looking for a simple VGA solution. Unlike other solutions that require either modifications to the Apple IIGS motherboard, or soldering your own adapter together, this is truly plug and play.

The adapter has been tested and confirmed to work with a few Benq and Samsung monitors. It can also be used with monitors that do not support 15 kHz, by using the adapter in conjunction with a frequency upscaler such as the Gonbes GBS-8200. A list of supported monitors is maintained here.

For the Apple IIGS, nothing beats the picture quality of an AppleColor RGB Monitor. The next best thing is a compatible CRT, like the NEC MultiSync 3D. For most of us though, the best modern option is a VGA LED Monitor that supports 15 kHz. We’ve listed a few of them in the table below.

If you are able to find one of these monitors, you will also need two things:

First, you will need an adapter to physically convert the DA-15 connector of the Apple IIGS RGB port, to the standard DE-15 connector of a VGA monitor.

DA-15 Male Connector

DE-15 Female Connector

Second, you will need a sync separator. Some monitors, such as the Benq BL702A, work just fine with the composite sync signal from the Apple IIGS RGB port. Other monitors, like the Samsung SyncMaster 510N/512N and 710N/712N series of monitors, require a separate (vertical) sync signal.

Some monitors, such as particular revisions of the Dell 2001FP, have been reported to have 15 kHz support. However in our tests we so far have not been able to make it work unless we also use a frequency upscaler. We tried using the Dell 2001FP with the upscaler for a while, but we were never truly happy, until we found a Samsung SyncMaster 712N and used it with the Apple IIGS VGA Adapter.

Here’s our list of monitors indicating a “Yes” for those monitors that would need the Apple IIGS VGA Adapter:

15 KHZ / COMPOSITE SYNC

15 KHZ / SEPARATE SYNC

NON-15 KHZ (ALSO REQUIRES UPSCALER)

50HZ, 60HZ OR BOTH

ASPECT RATIO

NATIVE RESOLUTION

Benq BL702A

Yes

Both

5:4

1280x1024

Samsung SyncMaster 510N/512N

Yes

60 Hz

4:3

1024x768

Samsung SyncMaster 710N/712N

Yes

60 Hz

5:4

1280x1024

Samsung SyncMaster 910N/912N

Yes

60 Hz

5:4

1280x1024

Dell 2001FP

Yes

Both

4:3

1600x1200

LG Flatron M1721A

TBC

Both

4:3

1280x1024

LG Flatron M1921A

TBC

Both

5:4

1280x1024

Samsung SyncMaster 712N

Samsung SyncMaster 712N using an ordinary DA-15 to DE-15 adapter with no sync separator